Building construction



Feb. 9, 1937. F. M. vz-:NZIE

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed March 30, 1953 INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Feb. 9, 1937 NETED STATES PAYNE sexes BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Application March 30, 1933, Serial No. 663,441

13 Claims.

v This invention relates to building construction and more particularly to a novel form of room surfacing.

Heretoiore the surfaces of rooms constructed to reduce noises have either been rigid, rigid and resiliently supported, or the surfacing material has had no supporting function and, hence, to it no decoration can be applied.

While such structures are capable of. absorbing large percentages of the lesser noises Which occur Within the room, they do not absorb suiliciently the louder noises Which create a concussion and Which appear to inict the greatest immediate shock upon the nervous system of the listener. Also, such sound absorbing means as were heretofore used could not be removed from the supporting structure Without destruction of at least one of such units or the destruction of a portion of the floor thereabove.

The present invention comprises a novel room surfacing structure in which the room is surfaced with units having a resilient surface and which are filled With sound absorbing material, which units are detachably connected to a support so that they may be freely attached and removed from the interior of the room.

An object of my invention is to provide a sound absorbing surface which not only will absorb the normal sounds Within a room but will absorb those concussive noises which heretofore have not been sufficiently absorbed.

A more speciiic object of my invention is to provide a novel resilient Wall surfacing unit.

Another object of my invention is to provide the association of a novel wall surfacing unit With novel clips for detachably connecting, from the room side, wall surfacing units to a support.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel combination of surfacing units and a support therefor in which the room surface of the units imparts resiliency to the combined structure to create a sound absorbing Wall.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a novel building unit which may be readily manufactured and detachably connected to a support together with means for attaching such units.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention Will be apparent from the following specification, claims, and from the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a ceiling and floor embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the panel illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the panel shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line l-fi of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a clip used in 5 conjunctionvvith the panel shown in Fig.` 2;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing a modified form of clip for attaching the panel to a support;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on the line 'l-'l oi Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan View on an enlarged scale of the screen used in the panels illustrated; and

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9 0 of Fig. 8.

While my invention is illustrated and Will be described as applicable to a ceiling, it will be obvious that this is for illustrative purposes only and that the invention may equally Well be applicable to the side Walls of a room. A support l0 illustrated as a plasterers channel is supported by hangers i i from a cementitious oor l2. The support l0 may equally Well be supported from beams or girolers by means of other Well known types of hangers, and it carries, by hairpin clips I3, smaller plasterers channels l which act as a means for the attachment of clips I5 each having a hook-shaped upper end ia tting over the channels ill and opposed L-shaped lower ends h one of which ts in a slot 25, Fig. 3, in a panel or surfacing unit li, and the other of which extends outwardly to the edge of the unit.

The panel il comprises a rectangular frame ila, preferably of greater length than Width and in cross section, the shape of an inverted and reversed L., over which is mounted a covering of wire cloth l@ which may be connected to the frame as by the rivets I9. Riveted as at 20 to the under surface of the upper portion of the side of the frame ila is a U-shaped member 2| having a vertically extending flange Zia which member terminates short of the ends of the sides of the units ila (see Fig. 2). As indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 this association of elements results in a slot i5 at opposite ends of the unit Il which slot terminates short of the ends of the panel. In the slot and spaced from the ends thereof is positioned a stop element 20 held in place by the rivets 2D. Thus the clips l5 may be hung on the channel member tl, the panels positioned by hand so that the lower end i517 of the clip is located at the end of the panel adjacent the slot E5, and the clip may then be slid along the channel member iii until the lower end of the clip enters the slot 25 and it abuts the stop 25.

From a consideration of Fig. 1 it will be obvi- 55 ous that by thev insertion of a normally curved exible steel tool the clips may readily be moved after the panels are positioned to either remove a positioned panel or reposition a panel which has been removed. Thus I provide means whereby surfacing units may be removed after they have been located in position and at the same time do this without making a noticeable perforation in the material forming the panel. These positioning means have worked as well when the units were applied to a side wall as when the units were applied to a ceiling.

In the modification of my invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in place of U-shaped member 2l connected to the frame ila of the panel, I rivet or otherwise suitably connect an L-shaped member 30 to the upper face of the frame Vla, on opposed sides to each of which is pivoted as on pins D two T-shaped hooks il each having an outwardly extending thumb 42 at their lower end. In this modification the hooks may be moved into and out of position by means of a tool adapted to it between adjacent panels and come intocontact with the thumbs 42 to move the hooks out of vertical position over supporting channels indicated at I4, when the panel is slightly raised as may readily be do-ne by hand. It will be noted that the thumbs on the hooks project in the same direction to lie within the confines of the panel, so that panels may be positioned adjacent one another and removed without the interference of one with the other.

Referring more particularly now to the panel proper, its framework may be of any suitable form, that above described being for illustrative purposes only. I have discovered that in order to obtain a desired sound prooiing result the use of the substantially rigid supporting members of the various types heretofore used are not altogether satisfactory and that among the flexible means which could be used, wire cloth as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 forms a suitable surfacing and supporting material if filled with sound absorbing material, such for instance as a composition composed of one-third peat moss, one third diatomaceous earth, and one-third charcoal, indicated at llc. This may be mixed with a binder if desired such as diluted starch which will hold the materials together without affecting their sound absorbing qualities. Such a surfacing material woven in the conventional manner, that is with alternate strands passing successively over and under successive cross strands, particularly when made of round wires, forms a surface which gives the effect of a multiplicity of adjacent funnels with their larger ends toward the room and their smaller ends directed toward the sound absorbing material. While it is not essential, I have found that the best results are obtained when one side of the square opening between the wires is of a dimension less than twice the diameter of that of a wire making up the fabric and greater than the diameter of a single wire. Such dimensions I believe define the proper relationship between the amount of space and the amount of sound reflecting material in the screen. A surfacing material of this type may be readily painted after it has been connected to the framework Ila and by the use of the modern rapidly drying thin paints the screen may be covered with a surface protecting material which will not clog the openings.

Various modifications may be made in the above described embodiment of Vmy invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A building construction comprising supporting means including a seat for a hook; and a surfacing unit comprising a rigid rectangular frame, hooks movably connected with respect to the sides of said frame and engaging said seat, a sound directing foraminous resilient cover over the room side of said frame and affixed to the sides thereof, and a sound absorbing substance within said frame supported thereby.

2. A room construction comprising a multiplicity of supported channel members; a multiplicity of surfacing units each comprising an oblong rectangular frame, slots in the outer sides of said frame, a wire mesh covering on one face of said frame, and a filling of sound absorbing material within said frame; and clips, each detachably engaging a slot in said frame and a channel member, for supporting said units from said channel members, each of said clips being provided with means for engagement by a tool for operating the same when said units are in erected position.

3. A room interior surfacing unit comprising a rigid frame; a sound directing, foraminous, resilient cover on one side of said frame; sound absorbing material within said frame; and means for associating clips with said frame.

4. A room interior surfacing unit comprising a rigid frame; a `sound directing, foraminous, resilient cover on one side of said frame; sound absorbing material within said frame; a clip; and means for pivotally connecting said clip to said frame for movement about a horizontal axis.

5. A room interior surfacing unit comprising a rigid frame; a sound directing, foraminous, resilient cover on one side of said frame; sound absorbing material within said frame; and a slot in said frame adapted to receive a clip.

6. In a, room interior construction, supports; a multiplicity of surfacing units each having one facel adapted to form a portion of the interior surface of a room; means for individually detachably connecting each of said units to said supports, said connecting means lying behind the surfacing faces of said units and operable from the room side thereof; and means for pivotally connecting said last named means to said units for movement about an axis parallel to the surface of said units.

7. In a room interior construction, a support, a multiplicity of interior surfacing units, and means for removably connecting each of said units to said support, said means being detachably connectible to said unit when said units are in erected position.

8. A ceiling construction comprising a completed floor, a support below said floor, a multiplicity of surfacing units below said support, and means carried by each of said units operable from below said floor and about a horizontal axis for connecting said units to said support.

9. An interior surfacing unit comprising a frame, means for movably connecting hooks to the sides of said frame, a resilient cover over the room side of said frame connected to the sides to which said hooks are connected, and a sound absorbing substance within said frame in contact with said cover.

10. A surfacing unit comprising a rigid metal frame, a wire cloth covering over said frame, means for permanently connecting said covering and said frame, means on the sides of said frame for receiving metal clips, and a sound absorbing substance within said frame and in contact with said covering.

11. A room construction comprising a multiplicity of supported channel members; a multiplicity of surfacing units each comprising an oblong rectangular frame, a Wire mesh cloth covering one face of said frame, and a filling of sound absorbing material Within said frame and covering; and clips, each detachably engaging one of said channel members and in engagement with and movable with respect to said frame, each of said clips having an extended portion providing means for engagement by a tool for operating the same when said units are in erected position.

12. A room construction comprising a multiplicity of supported channel members; a multiplicity of surfacing units, each having a rigid peripheral frame; and clips, each detachably engaging one of said channel members and in movable engagement with said frame, each of said clips having an extended portion providing means for engagement by a tool for operating the same when said units are in erected position.

13. A room construction comprising a multiplicity of supported channel members; a multiplicity of surfacing units, a metal frame on each of said units; and clips, each detachably engaging one of said channel members and said frame and each having an extended portion providing means for engagement by a tool for operating the same when said units are in erected position.

FREDERICK M. VENZIE. 

